


Nastily Exhausting Wizards and Tiering

by Bearixt



Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Developing Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-14 04:21:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28789371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bearixt/pseuds/Bearixt
Summary: The student raises his head and Banri sees pink eyes through his hair—blond with golden tips—before he walks away. It’s brief, unexpected eye contact, something that just happens randomly, without any meaning to, but somehow, there’s…“That’s the famous Slytherin Prince, right?” Tsuzuru says, gaze also following the student until he disappears in a corner.“Yep! Itaru Chigasaki! A fifth year. Cool, butcold, if you get what I mean.”-Hogwarts AU where Gryffindor!Banrimaybestops being bored after meeting Slytherin!Itaru.
Relationships: Chigasaki Itaru/Settsu Banri
Comments: 46
Kudos: 49





	1. First Year

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was gonna write some short explanation/disclaimer about stuff like ages and houses, but you know what? it's an au. it's fanfic. let's all just roll with it. hp knowledge is helpful but not required!
> 
> much, much thanks to phoenix for helping me sort (wink) things out! <3 
> 
> this is already almost completely written but no update schedule because i most likely won't be able to follow it anyway...
> 
> (and i might change the summary when im more coherent)

On Banri’s 11th birthday, he receives his Hogwarts letter, because _of course,_ he does. Considering his lineage, it’s a given. It’s natural. 

But that doesn’t make it any less annoying. He has never been interested in the Wizarding World or whatever. His family has been living with Muggles for the past few years, and Banri finds their life more interesting.

They have _video games._

When he first tried them after overhearing the Muggle kids that liked to play outside their house, he expected it to be as easy as his older sister’s homework—and while most of them _were_ easy, some of them actually required him to exert effort. Especially when he was against this other player.

Banri was convinced that they were using magic, maybe using a spell to hack the game or something, but a quick check from his parents says that it wasn’t the case. His parents have been pretty chill about his newfound interest in gaming, too, and they even charmed his consoles so that he’ll be notified if he’s playing against wizards or witches.

It’s a neat charm, but Banri can’t learn it yet because it’s too high-level for him or something, apparently. Not something related to his skills, his parents say (because he can learn any spells just after seeing it once), but because his magic core is still not matured enough or something. So, that sucks.

Overall, this entire Hogwarts thing is just gonna cut his gaming time. Really sucks.

* * *

When he’s at King’s Cross Station, pushing his cart of bags—where he managed to sneak in a few consoles—and walking alongside his sister, Banri sighs and thinks, _this is it. The boring life ahead._

His parents tell his sister to take care of him and kisses them both on the cheeks. She nods, and after bidding their goodbyes, they both walk through the metal barrier between platforms 9 and 10. 

A red steam train. An archway with the words “Platform Nine and Three-Quartes.” Other kids moved about, some carrying cages of animals and some still along with their parents. Banri continues to look around, scrunching his nose at the distinct smell, and flinches when he gets a light knock on the head.

“Take care of yourself since _I_ have a bunch of other brats to take care of,” she says, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes at the group of young wizards that walk past them. When the group paused and started to talk about something that is blatantly about her, she grabs her green tie and slings it over her shoulder, cracking her knuckles as she makes her way toward them.

Banri shrugs and heads to the train. She’s the last person he knows that will need any kind of help. She’s, like, the Head Girl or something, right? Whatever that is. Their parents might’ve mentioned it before.

Someone bumps into him, and he almost stumbles, balancing himself before he falls face flat on the floor. He expects an apology, but the kid, also obviously new, just glares at him and walks away. He looked at him like he’s just a speck of dirt underneath his shoes. The nerve of that—?!

He turns to follow him and give him a piece of his mind, but more and more people start filling the area, and he loses sight of the punk.

With a sneer, Banri boards the train and enters the first compartment he sees. There’s only one person inside so far, so he mutters an _excuse me_ and goes to sit near the window. The other kid, a guy with brown hair—dyed? looks dyed—looks up from his book to nod at him and continues reading.

No small talk. Good.

Banri digs for his phone and… he already expected it, but he’s dismayed at the _No Signal_ status. He inhales and opens one of the few offline games he downloaded, trying to calm himself down.

He has just cleared the 72nd level of the _Escape Elevator_ when the door opens, revealing a kid with red hair.

“Hello!” he says, smiling. “Are these seats taken?”

Banri shakes his head, while the other kid lowers his book to return the smile. “No, they’re not. You can sit here.”

The redhead takes the seat next to the other kid. Banri goes back to his game. “I'm Sakuya Sakuma! And— oh, are you reading Shakespeare?”

“Yeah. I’m a big fan.”

_“Her vestal livery is but sick and green—”_

_“...And none but fools do wear it; cast it off…?”_

And then, together: _“It is my lady, O, it is my love!”_

They share a laugh. In his peripheral vision, Banri sees the kid in front of him place his book on his lap and bring his hand out. “I’m Tsuzuru Minagi. You can call me Tsuzuru. It’s nice to meet you.”

The redhead grabs his hand and beams. “Nice to meet you, too! Call me Sakuya!” Then, he shifts his attention to Banri. “How about you? What’s your name? Do you like Shakespeare, too?”

Level 85. Guess he can stop now so he’d still have a few more levels to pass the time later. Pocketing his phone, he says, “Banri Settsu. And no. Who’s Shakespeare again?” Kinda familiar, but… “That some great old Wizard or something?”

It’s Minagi who answers, “Nope. A lot of people thought he was a Wizard, too, but it’s been confirmed that he was a Muggle.”

“He’s a playwright!” Sakuma adds. “I’m interested in plays. What are you interested in, uh, Settsu? Or can I call you Banri?”

Not that Banri met a lot of kids his age before (and most of them were Muggles that were scared of him or somethin’), but this kid sure is too nice, huh? Whatever. They’re both already on a first-name basis anyway. “Banri’s fine.”

“Wait.” Tsuzuru sits up straight. “Did you just say Settsu? _That_ pureblood family Settsu?”

“Yeah, I guess?”

“Is it okay for you to be seen with us? Though _I_ was here first, mind you,” Tsuzuru says, mumbling the last part, though Banri hears it fine.

“What's wrong?” Sakuya asks.

Tsuzuru looks at him and squints. “You are Muggle-born, aren’t you?”

“Uh… yeah, my relatives are all Muggles. How about you?”

“A muggle-born as well. My mother’s a Witch and my father’s a Muggle. I have two older brothers, both attending Durmstrang, and I’m— wait, this isn’t about me.” He looks at Banri. “I mean, uh, don't purebloods just want to hang out with other purebloods and stuff?”

Banri rolls his eyes. “That’s still a thing now? It’s a load of crap.”

The tension visibly leaves Tsuzuru’s body and he sighs, sinking into his seat. “Phew. Good. I thought you were Muggle-born, too, when I saw you bring out your phone earlier.”

“I don't really understand what's going on,” Sakuya says, scratching his cheek, “but does that mean I can be friends with you or not?”

 _Friends._ What a funny word. He has several in-game friends, and he can’t even count on them.

Ugh. Whatever. Troublesome to say no. They will likely not be in the same House anyway, and they can forget each other exists after this.

Banri shrugs. “Sure.”

* * *

The ceiling of the Great Hall looks like the sky outside. If it wasn’t for the traces of magic that he could feel coming from it, Banri would’ve thought that there was no ceiling at all. There are also floating candles covering the ceiling, but that’s not really anything impressive—their living room also have them.

Banri stands near Tsuzuru and Sakuya while they wait for the Sorting Ceremony to start, because they’re not as bad as he thought. Nobody else sat with them (one tried to, but he scampered away when Banri looked at him), and in the two’s conversation, Tsuzuru has shown hints of brilliance underneath his soft-spoken words and kind gestures.

 _Ravenclaw,_ Banri guesses.

The two of them continue talking about plays, and Banri’s gaze roams the hall until it lands on the student behind most of the other kids also waiting to be Sorted.

Violet hair, gold eyes.

It’s the same punk that bumped into him earlier, and he’s _still_ glaring at him. What the hell is his problem?

Banri growls and glares back at him, making Sakuya stop his explanation about some dude named Hamlet. “Banri? What’s wrong?”

Too. Troublesome. Huffing, he crosses his arm and looks to the front instead, where one of the staff places an old-looking hat—oh, it’s the Sorting Hat—upon a stool. The Hat coughs, and everyone quiets down.

“It will sing first,” Tsuzuru whispers. “The song is different every year.”

As if on cue, there goes the introductory song. Gryffindors are brave, Ravenclaws are intelligent, Hufflepuff and loyalty, Slytherin and ambitions, blah, blah, blah. Banri tunes it out with an inward sigh.

When it is finally over, the Deputy Headmistress calls them one by one alphabetically by last name. Banri barely pays it any attention, and the Sorting continues, one kid, and another, and why is his last name Settsu again?

Like he thought, Tsuzuru gets Sorted into Ravenclaw. A few more kids and it’s _finally_ letter S. When Sakuya’s name is called, the redhead turns to him and says, “No matter our Houses, let’s still be friends, okay?”

Banri shrugs but doesn’t outright decline. It feels bad to say no to that earnest face.

Sakuya sits down, and the Hat is placed on his head. Banri can’t see his face at all because the Hat is too big for him that it even covers his eyes.

It’s been more than five minutes now, and neither the Hat nor Sakuya has moved. Murmurs fill the Hall, and Banri hears the kid behind him ask if the Hat’s broken. He rolls his eyes and shuffles his feet before catching himself, because why is he acting like he’s nervous? He’s not.

“Hufflepuff!”

The second table on the left cheers. Banri rubs the back of his neck.

Then, finally, it’s his turn.

He walks to the front, head high and stride confident despite the drilling gazes he can feel on him. He sits on the stool and raises a brow at the several faces staring at him before his view turns black. The Hat moves enthusiastically on his head, making him flinch.

_Ah, I see… yes, hm, hmm, good! There’s a bit of this and that there… In Slytherin, you can flourish…_

Banri groans. Like his sister? He’s gonna be dragged around again… but she’s about to graduate, so he’ll just have to hang in there for one more year.

_But the drive, no, not yet… a clever mind, but the lack of ambition…_

Whatever you say. Just get this over with.

 _It may be best to put you in—_ “Gryffindor!”

The Hat is taken off of him. Banri stands up and goes to the table where the standing and shouting students are. He passes by Sakuya, who he nods at, before sitting down on the free space the Gryffindor students gave to him.

He responds to the upperclassman beside him who starts asking questions, since _yes I’m_ that _Settsu_ and _no I don’t mind not being in Slytherin_ and _who said I should be there anyway?_

Not even half an hour in and he’s already tired of everything. The Headmaster (“Eh? You don’t know him? That’s Professor Tachibana! He’s the father of the Deputy Headmistress, by the way.”) does his speech, does some tricks, and it’s time to eat. Banri wants to get this Start-of-Term Feast over with, too, but eating gives him a good excuse to not respond to their questions, at least.

He hears laughter, and when he turns his attention to the other end of the table, he realizes that it’s because the desserts are disappearing (not by magic) at an incredible speed because of the student who— oh, the punk from earlier is in this House, too? _Great_.

A quick look at the table on the opposite side and Banri starts to question his life. Look at them minding their own businesses. One of them, seated by the edge of the long bench, even looks as bored as he is.

Maybe he should’ve told the Hat to put him in Slytherin.

* * *

His classes are all boring. In Charms, he earns House points easily; the Locking and the Unlocking Charms are common spells in their household, and his sister likes to Levitate things when she’s lounging on the sofa.

Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, History of Magic, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Astronomy, and Herbology—they’re all boring.

He’s only interested in the Flying lessons, but even when he has never flown before and the quality of the school broom sucks, he easily learns it, too.

Really just _great_. The next seven years will just be suffering, won’t it?

(He later on finds out that he’s getting a signal in his phone for some reason. It’s unstable, but he can play some of his games sometimes, so at least there’s that.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "im here for the bnit but itaru didn't even appear in this chapter" i know right?? what's with this worldbuilding


	2. Second Year

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is as short as my temper after odp banri fails to come home even after 60+ pulls. i just want one (1) banri SR and instead i got fully bloomed misumi, citron, and azuma. i even have one copy of juza, too!! everyone comes home except for him!!!
> 
> *rolls sleeves* you really wanna be like this banri huh...
> 
> anyway. this chapter really is pretty short, but it is the only one that is, dw. hehe.

A year passed. A year of breezing through his classes, gaining House points for acing tests without difficulties (also losing them as quickly whenever Hyodo breathes the wrong way), and Banri still stands by his original thought: this entire Hogwarts thing sucks.

His only consolation, the signal he sometimes gets, is really inconsistent, too. A whole week can pass by without any signal at all, and those weeks really suck since he has nothing to do to ignore the other second years he’s sharing the floor with. Luckily, the weeks are usually during quiet times or maintenance in the mobile games he’s playing.

(The consoles he brought turned out to be useless; there’s no television to set them up in the Gryffindor Tower. No Wi-Fi at all, too. His sister should’ve given him a heads up. But then again, she didn’t give him any heads up when she disappeared after graduating last year either.)

They are notified to choose at least two electives for the next three years, and Banri decides to take all five, because why not? It’s a way to kill time. Better doing a bunch of easy stuff than die of boredom not doing anything at all. He can drop them anytime anyway if they do get troublesome.

The only noteworthy event in his second year is the Quidditch tryouts. He doesn’t really have a particular position in mind, so he just follows the instructions and does what he’s told: _Get the Quaffle—yep, that red ball—and get it through the goalpost if you want to be a Chaser, or guard the goalpost and make sure they don’t get past you if you want to be a Keeper. Oh, interested in that bat? You can use it if you’re a Beater; you have to keep the Bludgers—those black iron balls are bewitched to attack all players—away from your teammates or aim them toward the opponent and— don’t grin like that. We’re not looking for a fight._

Unsurprisingly, he gets accepted into the team. _Surprisingly_ , they want him to be the Seeker, a pretty important position since a game won’t end until he catches the Snitch. Grabbing hold of that golden walnut in 10 seconds is usually not easy?

“It’s not,” one of the higher years says, voice gruff. A fifth year. Beater. What’s his name again?

Another higher year, the current team captain, laughs and elbows him. “Stop being grumpy, Tasuku”—oh there, right—“‘coz I’m leaving this team to you. Be nice to them, all right?”

Tasuku sighs while the captain (what is _this_ one’s name?) turns to Banri. “You’re good at flying—how can you fly one-handed when you just learned last year?—and at getting a feel of the Snitch’s movements! Very sharp eyes, too!” He gives him a small smile along with two thumbs up. “But catching the Snitch is really not easy, so it’s very impressive.”

Banri doesn’t really feel like continuing this conversation, so he just shrugs and shifts his grip on his Firebolt Encore. (It’s a good thing they’re allowed to bring their own brooms now, and his parents were very enthusiastic about getting him this one.)

“There’s someone like you in Slytherin, too. He holds the fastest records in Hogwarts, actually. 5 seconds.”

Banri blinks. “That’s— what.”

The captain snickers. “Right? He just _zooms_ into the Snitch the moment he sees it. Really good, that one. It’s always a pain to go against Slytherin because of that, but we finally have a Seeker of our own that can match him.” Two shoulder pats. “We’re counting on you, Banri!”

“Right.”

“We’re counting on you, too, Juza! Hufflepuff started having that tough Beater last year, too.”

“It’s Fushimi,” Tasuku says with a nod. “We need to keep an eye for him.”

“I’ll leave him to you two. Juza, tomorrow, let’s work on balance since—”

Banri stops listening.

A Seeker who can catch that walnut in 5 seconds, huh? Banri’s pretty intrigued. Maybe the Quidditch matches can ease his boredom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .........i promise he's in the next chapter


	3. Third Year

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy 4th anniversary, a3! 🥳

Divination classes almost make him regret taking _all_ of the electives, but the others aren’t so bad. While Arithmancy is too easy and Care of Magical Creatures doesn’t spark his interest, Muggle Studies and Study of Ancient Runes are pretty okay. Muggle Studies even covered Virtual Reality that can be applied in games, so that was pretty cool.

But school is still, overall, boring. The Quidditch matches throughout the previous year didn’t do anything to ease his boredom. He had been looking forward to their first match, which was against Slytherin, but even his teammates were confused during the game; they had a different Seeker, they say, and the one he wanted to see stopped playing for whatever reasons.

(The match against Hufflepuff was pretty fun though. Hyodo’s been slammed to the ground after Fushimi aimed a Bludger at him.

Oh. And they won, of course. If Banri took his sweet time catching the snitch because he liked to see the punk getting what he deserved, nobody called him out on it.)

Banri doesn’t plan to go to Hogsmeade this weekend, but Sakuya finds him loitering on the third-floor corridor and drags him along with him. They meet up with Tsuzuru who is, unsurprisingly, in Tomes and Scrolls.

Since he’s already there anyway, Banri takes the chance to buy a Broomstick Servicing Kit in Spintwitches Sporting Needs, which Sakuya somehow takes as his cue to talk about the Quidditch matches and how great he is as the Gryffindor Team’s Seeker. Banri shrugs and replies with a mumbled thanks.

They step out of the store, and Tsuzuru is congratulating him since Gryffindor won last year’s Quidditch and House Cups, but Banri’s attention is on the shop in front of him.

Or, to be exact, on the student that just came out of Dervish and Banges, fiddling with a mechanical-looking spherical item in his hand. A magical device? 

The student raises his head and Banri sees pink eyes through his hair—blond with golden tips—before he walks away. It’s brief, unexpected eye contact, something that just happens randomly, without any meaning to, but somehow, there’s…

“That’s the famous Slytherin Prince, right?” Tsuzuru says, gaze also following the student until he disappears in a corner.

“Yep! Itaru Chigasaki! A fifth year. Cool, but _cold_ , if you get what I mean.”

Banri looks to his right and raises a brow. Blond hair. A higher year. The scarf that matches his eye color tells him that this eavesdropper is a Hufflepuff.

“Hello, Kazunari!” Sakuya greets with a smile. Beside him, Tsuzuru groans and starts massaging his temple.

“Hi, Saku-Saku! Aww, no hi for me, Tsuzuroon?”

“...Hello,” the Ravenclaw half-heartedly says.

“And heya! If it isn’t the recent Quidditch star. Hi, Setzer!” 

“Set— _what?_ ”

“That guy’s a star of his own, too, btw. He’s, like, so cool and stuff, but kinda unapproachable?” He shakes his head before continuing, “I mean! He’s nice! I heard he took Muggle Studies as an elective, and that already says a lot since he’s a pureblood and stuff, you know?”

“I _am_ a pureblood,” Banri pointedly says, “and I _am_ taking Muggle Studies.”

“You are? Cool! Maybe you two will get along, interest in Muggles and pureblood camaraderie and all that.”

Banri opens his mouth because _what the hell is with that logic,_ but Kazunari doesn’t stop talking. “He’s already so popular when I came to Hogwarts. A lot of my co-first years really admired him, you know, since he participated in a lot of stuff and was awarded a lot of House points.”

He urges them to come closer as he says in a conspiratorial tone, “I think something happened last year so he just mainly keeps to himself now. There’s this wall you can physically feel when you talk to him. He’s nice, but distant.”

Oh. Wait. Is he the Slytherin Seeker? Is that why he didn’t participate in the previous matches?

Banri tries to hold it in, but the question still escapes him. “What happened?”

Kazunari stands up straight and raises his shoulders. “No one really knows, but why don’tcha try asking? Maybe he’ll tell you since— oh, wait, looks like Sumi’s finished shopping. Bye! See ya in school!”

He waves at them as he skips to the other Hufflepuff holding a bunch of different… triangle things? What?

“I feel like I have to say sorry on behalf of him,” Tsuzuru says as they start making their way back to the Castle.

“Who is he?” Banri asks.

“Kazunari Miyoshi. Fourth year. He’s my neighbor back home. He can be a little…” Tsuzuru pauses, and then, “much.”

Sakuya laughs. “He’s really kind! He holds games almost every night in our common room, and it really helped us get to know each other.”

“I thought he’d be in Ravenclaw,” Tsuzuru says. “He likes to come over and tutor my younger brothers. Helped me with homework last break, too.”

Banri thinks of the other Hufflepuff earlier. “The Hat takes requests into consideration, doesn’t it?”

“It does?” Tsuzuru stops walking and furrows his brows, mulling it over. He nods to himself and catches up to them in the next second. “I guess it can. Did you request to be in Gryffindor then, Banri? For a change?”

 _For a change._ Why is there an expectation of him to be in Slytherin, seriously. “Nah. I just told it to do whatever it wants.” Actually, now that they’re talking about it… He turns to Sakuya. “The Hat took quite a while with you, right? What did you talk about?”

“O-Oh! Um, it wasn’t really anything interesting,” he says, scratching his cheek, eyes squinted with the way he’s laughing sheepishly. He looks to the right. “Ah! Looks like the students taking Music class are doing a performance. Let’s take a look!”

Banri hums and watches Sakuya’s back as he briskly walks toward the crowd gathering in the middle of the street. _That_ is not really the reaction of someone who has an uninteresting story.

But if he doesn’t want to talk about it, fine. Banri’s not one to snoop.

And speaking of interesting, maybe he should seek (heh) for that Slytherin…

* * *

Banri meets Itaru Chigasaki on the day he actually is _not_ planning to.

It is both easy and hard to look for him. Easy, that if there’s a group of students loitering around and looking in one direction, the recipient of their dreamy gazes is most likely Chigasaki. Hard, that he can start walking toward his direction, but somehow, the Slytherin vanishes before he can even get close.

(The one moment he _did_ get close to him, it was in the library. Chigasaki was surrounded by a group of Slytherins asking him for help in Runes, and Banri finally understood Kazunari’s words. Nice, that he answered their questions with a smile. Distant, that his tone is _too_ polite and the smile looks manufactured as hell.)

It’s ridiculous how easy it is to know his schedule; a lot of the students, especially the female population, are invested in his life. A little _too_ invested that Banri feels bad for the poor guy. His every move is watched, and several students are anticipating for him to “come back” from whatever slump he had. 

Or something. Banri didn’t really listen when the students he asked stopped talking about Chigasaki’s schedule and started gossiping about other people’s personal lives.

Banri planned to approach him after his Muggle Studies class the next day, because maybe Kazunari has a point. And while the entire pureblood stuff doesn’t sit well on Banri, their common ground can be a good starter.

Then, he will direct their conversation to their other shared interest: Quidditch.

So Banri’s hanging out in the Quidditch training pitch that night, getting some fresh air before curfew, and _there he is_. He has his back on Banri, but that hair with its golden tips is unmistakable.

Banri takes a deep breath and walks forward. “Hey. Itaru Chigasaki.”

Chigasaki jolts, making the corner of Banri’s lips twitch. Nice to know that the Slytherin Prince is capable of being surprised.

He schools his face back to normal—he doesn’t want Chigasaki to think he’s making fun of him—but the _sorry_ stays stuck in his throat when Chigasaki turns around, head slightly tilted to the side. “Yes?”

Unfortunately for the Slytherin, Banri saw the murderous look in his eyes before it disappeared, and that manufactured smile doesn’t distract him from the left hand that stuffed something in his pocket.

Banri is the last person to believe all those old-fashioned notions about Slytherins, but _man_ , Itaru Chigasaki is _so_ suspicious. The fact that he easily conceals his emotions, that he’s acting all nice even when he’s obviously annoyed, that he’s out at night (never mind the fact that Banri also is), plus the fact that he’s hiding something…

Slytherin used to be known as an “evil” House, wasn’t it?

Since her sister was in that House, Banri can understand where they’re coming from. Maybe he should’ve asked her about the Seeker too before she disappeared off the face of the earth. All the missed chances—

“Do you need something? You’ve just been staring at me for a while. I’m getting a little self-conscious.”

The fake laugh brings Banri out of his stupor. Chigasaki is still wearing that awful smile. It’s getting a little irritating, to be honest. Banri ain’t stupid and he ain’t falling for that.

“Sorry,” Banri says. “Was just thinkin’ of something.”

“Mhmm. So what can I do for Banri Settsu?”

Huh. How did he know— ah, that would make sense. Banri’s the Seeker of a rival team. The Seeker who almost overtook his record, and _will_ overtake it soon. Maybe that’s why he’s pissed?

“Have a match with me,” Banri says. If he’s mad, then he just has to reassert his position, right?

That throws Chigasaki off guard, and the perfect smile falters. Banri inwardly grins. _Gotcha._ “Uh. What?”

“Just a quick one. The first to catch the Snitch. You can set the day.”

“Huh?” The smile is completely gone, replaced by a frown. “Why?”

Banri frowns back at him. “‘Why?’ Because you—”

_Hey, Boss! The construction’s finished. You’re not slacking off, right?_

Banri blinks.

“Shit.” Chigasaki brings out his hidden hand, revealing a phone—a _Muggle_ phone—and aggressively presses down the volume key, but it’s too late.

“You’re playin’ B3?” Banri asks, flabbergasted.

Chigasaki ignores him, the frown almost becoming a permanent feature. The manufactured smile is bad, but somehow, this is worse. “—cast a _Silencio_ on it? It should’ve worked—”

“Uh,” Banri interrupts, “that charm only works on living beings.”

Chigasaki stops muttering to himself and looks up, an incredulous expression on his face. That’s a new look, too. “Wait. Seriously?”

Banri slowly nods.

“Professor Hiro didn’t think it would be important to mention _that_ when he taught it earlier?” Chigasaki sighs and buries his face in his free hand.

And he’s _sighing_. He’s becoming more of a normal person instead of the perfect Slytherin he has been seeing the past few days while he was _not-stalking_ him.

Chigasaki brings his hand down and stands upright, staring at him dead in the eye. “You better not tell anyone about this. You also know the game, so if you say anything, I’m dragging you down with me.”

“Huh? I’m not gonna—”

Chigasaki brings his wand out. Banri flinches, hand moving toward his own wand, but the other just casts a _Tempus_ charm. The floating numbers inform them that they have half an hour until curfew.

“I need to go back now or Citron will start looking for me.” Chigasaki clicks his tongue. “Damn. And I wanted to make sure I’m ahead by five million points, too."

Aside from Banri, there’s only one person playing Blood Brothers Battle that can _reach_ five million points, and this guy is saying that he should be ahead? Could it be—

“I don’t have time to chat with you. Meet me here tomorrow at 7 in the evening.” The words are spoken like a command, like there’s no room for refusal, and he starts walking toward him.

“I’m—”

“Banri Settsu. Yeah, I know. Who doesn’t?” He rolls his eyes. “Don’t tell a single soul about what you just witnessed. You might be a Settsu, but I _am_ Itaru Chigasaki. Remember that, Gryffindor.”

Banri tenses up as Chigasaki comes closer.

And then, he passes by him, heading to the entrance to the corridor.

Since he doesn’t want to deal with Professor Sakyo’s nagging about curfew, Banri rushes to Gryffindor Tower and goes straight to his bed. Hyodo says something but he just flicks his wand, closing the bed’s curtains and casting Cleaning and Silencing Charms.

His mind is still whirling. Itaru Chigasaki is not only the famous Slytherin Seeker but also the famous gamer, Taruchi? _That_ Taruchi that sometimes play the same games as him—and takes first place most of the time?

The same Taruchi that Banri is always excited to play against, even though the chances have been far and few between?

For the first time in two and a half years, Banri falls asleep with something to look forward to the next day.

* * *

Itaru Chigasaki is not the Slytherin Seeker.

“Where did that even come from?” Chigasaki rolls his eyes. “You’re talking about Chikage Utsuki. Seventh year. Stopped playing after an incident involving Hisoka Mikage. Hufflepuff. Also a seventh year.”

They’re in a room underneath a stained-glass window near the training pitch, seated on the stools Chigasaki transformed from rocks. While Banri looks around him (because he’s pretty sure this is some secret room), Chigasaki’s eyes never leave his phone. It’s not muted, but he doesn’t seem bothered by it, probably because of the small item he had set up in front of them before he brought his phone out.

And the item he set up outside the window. And another one near the entrance to the pitch.

The items are similar to the ones he saw him tinker with before, back when he first saw him in Hogsmeade. Banri’s curious, but he has more important questions to ask.

So. He’s not the Seeker. That’s fine, but, “How about Taruchi?”

Chigasaki stills. “Who?”

“The only person I know who can reach five million points in B3… aside from me.”

That makes Chigasaki look up from his phone, stare so piercing that Banri shifts in his seat. After a few seconds that felt like _hours,_ he clicks his tongue and goes back to his phone. “Damn you, NEO.”

Banri grins.

Who knew he’d meet Taruchi in Hogwarts, out of all places?

* * *

It has become their thing now to meet in the secret room at night, a few hours before their curfew.

(It _is_ a secret room; Itaru says that he learned about it from Utsuki, and no other student knows about it except for them—and now, Banri included.) 

Banri doesn’t see the annoyingly fake smiles when they’re here; instead, he’s often the recipient of snarks, of smug looks, of elegantly raised brows that should annoy him—because it feels like Itaru’s looking down on him just because he’s younger—but Banri’s not. He’s _thrilled_.

It’s a side of the Slytherin that Banri is sure no one else has seen, considering that Itaru is hellbent on making sure nobody finds out that the pureblood Slytherin Prince is into Muggle video games.

The magical devices he bought, commissioned, and sometimes even personally created are there to help him with that. Those outside are to alert him if someone’s coming, and the one near them works both like a Disillusionment Charm and a Muffliato Charm; even if they can’t leave the room fast enough, they won’t be seen or heard at all. Too cautious, that guy.

Turns out that the signal Banri’s getting on his phone is from one of his magical devices, too. He makes sure to thank him for that, but Itaru just gives him a nonchalant shrug, telling him that it’s more fun when NEO is around anyway.

_(“Where’s your Switch? Or DS? You’re always just on your phone.”_

_“At home. Didn’t bring any consoles since last year since they were useless. No TV. Can finish all my games on the train, too.”_

_“Tsk. Bring at least a Switch next time. My Signal Orb can handle it.”_

_“Why don’tcha just make a TV, too? Like how you made this sofa.”_

_“As if they’d teach that in Transfiguration. And where the hell would we even plug it here?”_

_“Heh. I bet I can make—”_

_“Banri. Shut up and increase your DPS.”)_

Banri still attends Quidditch practices, sure, but more out of courtesy rather than interest. No one can beat him as a Seeker anyway. In contrast, he loses more than he wins when he’s playing against Itaru, and that makes their meet-ups what he looks forward to the most as the days pass by.

When Itaru doesn’t get the limited edition card he wants in one of the mobile games he’s playing, Banri casts a spell on him, one they’re recently taught: the Cheering Charm.

He gets hit by a _Levicorpus_ in return, but seeing Itaru clutch his stomach as he bursts into fits of laughter, Banri finds himself not caring even if he’s dangling upside down in midair.

“Make”—laughter—”this”—laughter—“stop”—more laughter—“Banri!”

“Can’t! My wand’s over there!” Banri points at where his wand landed after he was hoisted into the air. The spell must be contagious since he can’t stop laughing, too. “Bring me down first!”

Itaru is barely able to flick his wand at him and say _Finite_ in between his laughs, and Banri picks up his wand to cast a counterspell on him as well.

It takes them a minute to calm down and catch their breath. Itaru directs a genuine smile at him, eyes a little glassy, and with the moonlight passing through the stained-glass window illuminating the room, he looks…

Banri feels a little dizzy. 

It’s probably because of all the blood that rushed to his head.

(It’s probably not.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ((yeah banri it's probably not))
> 
> i love how we're all like "itaru as the seeker?? you sure????" because....... yeah. HAHA. but he's here! what do you guys think? i never planned him to be the seeker www
> 
> the last scene is one of my favorites out of everything i've written so far (i.e., until sixth year)! i just think they look so cute laughing with banri being upside down ;u; if you like any line or scene in particular, feel free to let me know, too! i'd love to hear your thoughts!
> 
> _i shall now disapparate 🧙_


	4. Fourth Year

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh, by the way, the secret room _does_ [exist](https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Secret_room_near_the_Training_Grounds), though it only appears in the PC game and not in the books/movies (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧

The second thing that Banri _Accio’d_ after learning it in Charms is Itaru’s phone, much to the Slytherin’s surprise and annoyance when they met for the first time in Banri’s fourth year.

His life would’ve been easier if he learned this charm earlier; he can summon drinks or food toward him with just a flick of his wand, not needing to get up when he’s gaming.

(But he’s not perfect, contrary to popular belief. His lifestyle leans more on the Muggle side, too.)

Since Itaru’s a sixth year, he starts taking NEWT-level classes. The wizarding tests are apparently as “nastily exhausting” as the name suggests, so he’s studying even during their meet-ups. He’d bring parchments and quills and inks, along with his usual magic devices, and do his homework as he leaves his phone on auto-play on the newly-transformed table. 

Most of the times, though, he’ll all but shove his phone to Banri and make him play his games. Banri doesn’t mind; he appreciates Itaru’s willingness to meet him despite his schedule.

There are instances where Itaru will ask his opinions, which can lead to light-hearted debates or new knowledge since _it’s ‘Ehwaz’ not ‘Eihwaz’ since the former means ‘Partnership’ and the latter means ‘Defence,’ Banri. Aren’t you taking Runes, too? Don’t make a noob mistake._

Itaru’s intelligence and skills don’t surprise him. After all, this is the guy, _the kid then,_ that has been making adults cry after robbing their golds. Isn’t he also part of that notorious guild? Banri heard he’s the assistant strategist.

What _does_ surprise him is Itaru’s indecisiveness about the career he wants to have after graduating, considering that he’s preparing meticulously for his NEWTs.

“Anything’s good, I guess,” Itaru says, eyes never leaving the levitating book in front of him while he flicks his wand, commanding his quill to write on its own. He’s practicing nonverbal magic as well, something they are expected to start using from their sixth year onwards.

(Banri cast a nonverbal _Accio_ while he’s in the dorm once, but after hearing Itaru complain about the difficulty of performing nonverbal spells, he has no plans on doing it again, at least not in front of him.)

“You got an OWL in all your classes last year, right?” Banri asks.

“Of course. If I’ll be drowning in exams for two weeks straight, I might as well do good at them.”

“NEWT-level classes you takin’?”

“All of the core classes and my electives. I got an O in Potions.”

“And an ‘Exceeds Expectations’ for the rest?” Banri whistles. “Nice.”

“Nothing impressive for you, I bet. _You_ will probably get an ‘Outstanding’ in everything,” Itaru says. With another flick, the book closes and gently lands on top of the stack of books on the floor. “But most careers only require an OWL in certain classes, so I’m good with E.”

Banri places Itaru’s phone on the table since he’s done with the daily missions. “How ‘bout a Potioneer? Dunno how hard a NEWT in Potions is though. What electives are you takin’ again?”

“Muggle Studies and Runes.” A different book floats in front of Itaru. “Ah, and I’m taking Alchemy, too. Good thing there are a lot of interested students this year so the class could be made.”

“Wanna be an Alchemist then?”

“Maybe, maybe not.”

“That’s very un-Slytherin of you.”

“As if you’re the paragon of Gryffindor.”

“Hey, I’m very brave and daring,” Banri replies, snickering. “Where’d you Sort me?”

“Slytherin, but I guess you lack in ambition as well.”

“Huh. That’s actually what the Hat said to me.”

The quill stops moving, and Itaru looks at him with a raised brow. A swish and a flick, and all the levitated items are sent to the table. Itaru turns to him, arms crossed, and hums. “So you also made a deal.”

“Not really. Wait, _also_?” Banri raises a brow in return. “You made a deal?”

“Not really,” Itaru echoes. “I just thought, _very intently,_ how being Sorted into Slytherin will help me live the kind of life I want to live.”

“Now _that_ is very Slytherin of you.”

“That fourth year probably has a deal with the Hat. Sakuma, wasn’t it?”

“Sakuya?” Banri furrows his brows. “You know him?”

“True Hatstalls are rare, you know?”

“True what?”

Itaru sighs and after a quick _Tempus_ , telling them that it’s about time they head back, he starts gathering his items. “Go read some books in the library sometime, won’t you? And try to pay more attention to your surroundings. I know you think school is a hassle, but you’ll never know who will be beneficial to you someday.”

“It’s easier if you just tell me,” Banri says as they leave the room and walk across the pitch, heading to the entrance to the corridor.

“Maybe, but it’s a good way to kill time,” Itaru says, “since we won’t see each other for a while. I’ll try to keep my Signal Orb open for you so you can still play your games, but don’t expect much.”

Banri stops walking. “What?”

Itaru stops too, tilting his head at him. “You expect me to just let you leech off my data while I’m studying my ass off? No way. It’s not easy to gather and store that.”

“No, not that. I don’t care—”

Itaru snorts before he continues walking, and Banri jogs to catch up to him. “We meet because of our shared outlandish interests as purebloods. I let you use my Signal Orb, and in exchange, you help me with my games. You should’ve been in Slytherin so we can just meet in my room.” He raises a hand to fiddle with his bangs, muttering, “I need to cut my hair. Or maybe borrow a hair tie from Citron.” 

Banri recently started wishing that he’s in Slytherin too, sure, but not for that reason. And Itaru has a room of his own?

But before he can say anything, Itaru continues, “Anyway, see you soon. Have fun tiering while I’m not around. Bye.”

After picking up the magic device by the entrance, Itaru walks away, heading in the direction of the Slytherin Dungeon. Banri walks back to the Tower, too, bumping into a few Slytherins on his way. 

There are just _so_ many wrong things said in the last few minutes. To begin with, there is _no_ fun in tiering when Itaru is not around.

* * *

Just like Itaru said, they really don’t see each other at all. Banri sometimes catches a glimpse of him in the Great Hall, but most of the higher years immediately leave after lunch and don’t even bother to appear at dinner. Even Tasuku, who is taking his NEWTs that year, is more often seen in the library, studying with the seventh year Ravenclaw good at Herbology, than he is seen in the training grounds.

Game events are boring when he wins without effort, so Banri tries to pay more attention to his classes for a change of pace. If he always casts newly-learned spells perfectly and with ease, that is just how it is. The other Gryffindors don’t need to thank him for all the points he’s racking up.

During potions class, he realizes that he’s pretty good at it. He’s good at everything, yeah, but it seems like he has an instinctual understanding of potion-making. Case in point, the Amorentia he perfectly made in one try.

“This is a highly dangerous potion,” Professor Hinamori says, “and it is something that the seventh years now find hard to brew, and even that kid.” _He’s talking about Itaru, right?_ Itaru mentioned Professor Hinamori helping him out before. 

The professor observes Banri’s cauldron, checking the spiraling steam coming from it, and nods. “But of course, if someone would be able to brew it in their fourth year, it would be Settsu. 20 points to Gryffindor.”

Banri shrugs. Professor Hinamori smiles. “Class is over. Everyone, please clear your stations. Settsu, bring the potion to my office, and please refrain from brewing it until you are required to do so again in your sixth year,” he says before exiting the room.

The students—Gryffindor and Hufflepuff are taking Potions together this year—take their leave one by one, some of them greeting Banri on their way out, to which he replies with a nod. He’s almost finished transferring the potion to a phial when Sakuya approaches him. “Good work, Banri!”

“Thanks.”

“So that’s Amorentia, huh? It’s really amazing how you can make an advanced potion—” Sakuya sniffs and scrunches his nose. “That’s… odd. The aroma is different for everyone, right?”

“Mhmm.”

“‘Reminding each person of the things that they found most attractive, even if the person did not acknowledge or was unaware of their fondness for the object of their affection themselves,’” Sakuya recites the description from the book, line by line. “What do you smell, Banri?”

Banri puts a lid on the phial and casts a Cleaning Charm on the cauldron. “I’m bringing this to Professor Hinamori. Don’t you have Magical Creatures next?”

“Ah! You’re right!” Sakuya _Accio’d_ the items he left in his station. “I’m going first! See you later!”

With the room empty, Banri finally lets out the sigh he has been holding ever since he finished brewing the potion.

 _Oregano, grease, and… a musty smell._ Something that reminds him of their attic back home, a room not always used—

He massages his temple and stands straight, grabbing the phial, and heads for the door. He doesn’t want to dwell on what it means.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i just HAD to update today because JASHDKJASHD OH MY GOD the latest [cards](https://twitter.com/mankai_company/status/1356527783061704711)?!?!?!!!? maybe being a potioneer really is for itaru...
> 
> exams info for those not into hp:  
> \- fifth years take their OWLs (Ordinary Wizarding Test) in each subject  
> \- an O (outstanding), E (exceeds expectation), or A (acceptable) is needed to pass a subject (also called "achieving an OWL" in that subject)  
> \- an O or E is needed before you can continue taking that subject in your sixth and seventh years (NEWT-level classes)  
> \- seventh years take NEWTs (Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test)  
> \- some careers only need OWLs in certain subjects, and some careers need NEWTs (e.g., aspiring Aurors should have at least five NEWTs graded O or E)
> 
> god im taking this too seriously *buries face in hands* but yeah in case you didn't notice, the fic's title is... NEWT. hehe. OTL


	5. Fifth Year

It’s too loud in the Three Broomsticks. There are a lot of people in the inn, most of them being students, but there are adults as well, probably those who live in Hogsmeade. Banri chugs his Butterbeer, wondering why he agreed to come along in the first place.

“Oi, Sakuya, you sure you should be hanging out with us?” Banri looks to his right, setting the empty tankard on the wooden table. “Don’t you have stuff to do as a prefect or somethin’?”

“It’s okay! We already had a meeting earlier, and I’ll be supervising the third years visiting Hogsmeade this weekend anyway.”

Banri hums and raises a hand, catching the attention of a server. The server approaches and taps his tankard with her wand, refilling it with the hot, foaming mixture of butterscotch, sugar, and water. Banri nods at the server and she walks away.

“I thought you or Tsuzuru would be prefects, too…”

“ _Me?_ A prefect?”

Sakuya scratches his cheek. “Most of Gryffindor’s house points last year are from you again, right? And you’re good at Quidditch. I thought you’ll want to… get everything or something?”

Huh? What kind of thinking is that?

Well, he _was_ chosen by their Head, and he declined. But they don’t need to know that.

“Right? Same here!” Kazunari, seated on the opposite bench, says. He jabs his thumb at Omi beside him. “Thought Omimi’s the prefect type, too!”

Omi smiles, literally just exuding _kind and patient_ aura. Way too different from when they see him in the pitch. “Nah. That’s more of Nachi’s area, not mine.” He catches Banri’s eye and they nod at each other. Not like they really spoke to each other outside of Quidditch matches, but…

Actually, what _is_ with this group, anyway? Sakuya and Tsuzuru, he can understand, but once you add Kazunari to the mix…

“You’re Quidditch captain anyway, Omimi, so you’re allowed to be in the large bathroom—”

“That’s… not really why I became the captain.”

“—but how about you, Tsuzuroon? You didn’t try? Don’t wanna be a prefect?”

Tsuzuru shakes his head. “I want to focus on studying for OWLs. We’re taking them by the end of this year, you know?”

“Eh, you’ll do fine,” Kazunari says, swatting away imaginary flies. “You gotta relax a bit.”

“Aren’t you relaxing a bit _too_ much?” Tsuzuru asks, exasperated. “You’re taking NEWT classes, right? You’re graduating next year, so don’t slack off.”

Banri pauses, his tankard a few centimeters away from his lips. Sakuya turns to him and tilts his head. “Banri? Is something wrong?”

“...Nah,” he mumbles before taking a swig.

They continue to chat, talking about different things, from classes to professional Quidditch matches to other schools and the rumors about the Triwizard Tournament returning next year. Ikaruga arrives later, again carrying a bunch of triangle-shaped things, and sits beside Sakuya. Even Hyodo is pulled in their merry little group. (Literally. Kazunari grabbed him when he passed by their table, forcing him to sit next to Omi.) He wanted to leave at first, but the gross-looking beverage Omi ordered for him glues him to his seat.

Banri barely pays them any attention. He keeps his eyes on his now-empty glass. There’s only a slight alcohol content in Butterbeer, but if he keeps asking for more refills, he wonders if he will feel any effect.

Right. Itaru’s graduating this year.

* * *

Banri planned to go to the secret room, not really expecting to see Itaru. There are no ongoing events in any of the games they play, and they haven’t spoken to each other since _that_ night.

He nods at one of the lower year Slytherin he passes by and turns around the corner. The magical device by the entrance to the training pitch stops him in his tracks.

_He’s there._

Taking a deep breath, he musters up the famous Gryffindor courage and goes out to the pitch, heading to the stained glass window. When he arrives, Itaru looks up, likely already informed of his presence because of his magical devices and—

Banri certainly does not expect to see Itaru… much less to see him _with animal ears_. He rubs his eyes as he gets closer, but the ears don’t disappear. Instead, he sees a thick, ringed tail behind him, too.

After taking his usual seat, he turns to the Slytherin and raises an eyebrow. “Red panda?”

Itaru hums, eyes never leaving his phone, and it’s so _him, so usual,_ that Banri doesn’t know what to feel. He couldn’t stop thinking about what happened before, kept replaying their conversation and wondered what he should’ve said to make things different.

Yet here they are. A normal night.

“Human transfiguration class,” Itaru replies, as if that is enough explanation.

It kinda is, Banri thinks. The ears look soft…

Itaru flinches. “Oi, don’t do that.”

 _Do what—?_ Banri blinks. Why is his hand on his ears?

Banri quickly pulls his hand back, clearing his throat. Itaru’s still looking on his phone, but his cheeks… are flushed?

Unexpectedly, Banri feels his cheeks heat up, too. “Uh. Sorry.”

“It’s a little sensitive,” Itaru mumbles.

“Uh… yeah.”

The silence drags on. It’s not awkward, but it’s not comfortable either. They’d usually talk about games, but there are no ongoing events or new updates. What is Itaru’s doing on his phone, anyway? Is it okay to ask?

Ugh. Why is he acting like this? Just a small talk, a conversation starter, what would Kazunari do—

“By the way,” Banri says, “the Head Boy this year is from your House, right?”

“Yep. It’s Citron.” The name’s familiar. Itaru mentioned him before, didn’t he?

“I don’t get why he’d want to take that responsibility on top of everything, but I guess it’s the royalty in him,” Itaru continues, turning his phone sideways to hold it horizontally. “But Citron as the Head Boy… Everyone say GG.”

An unfamiliar music from his phone plays. Huh. “You’re playing a game?”

“Yep, yep. Citron recommended this one. Good time-killer. It’s offline, too.”

“Recommended you?” Banri repeats, slowly.

“Mhmm.”

“…Citron did?”

Itaru stares at him and raises a brow. “Did your hit your head too much in Quidditch?”

Banri stopped regularly attending Quidditch training. No one calls him out on it, not even their new Captain after Tasuku quitted to focus on his NEWTs. He’s still a damn good Seeker even without the almost daily training anyway.

So damn good that he has _never_ been struck down in any of his matches. 

Itaru doesn’t know that because… he never watched any of his matches, did he? Since he’s only interested in Muggle video games.

That kinda stings.

Banri asks other questions instead. The name of the game (“Ultimate Weapons 4? I think I know that.”), any new potions he learned to brew (“Veritaserum is that Truth Potion, right? Scary.”), his reasons for choosing a red panda for his transfiguration exercises (“I don’t believe that for one second.”)…

He asks a lot, like they’re playing a game of 20 Questions, until it’s time for them to go back to their dorms.

But he doesn’t ask about Citron, doesn’t ask why there is someone else who knows about his interests when it is supposed to be his well-guarded secret.

He doesn’t ask if he will be in the secret room tomorrow.

* * *

It takes five months (of being alone in the secret room, of lying on the field, staring mindlessly at the night sky) before Banri sees Itaru again.

“Discovering that you’re a furry?” Banri asks as he enters the room.

Itaru’s ears—the fluffy, pointed, _not human_ ears—twitch. He snorts, still typing on his phone. “If _you_ are getting attracted to me then maybe _you_ are one. I’m just practicing since I’m getting real good at this, you know?”

Banri shrug and sits on the couch. He’s not gonna comment on that first sentence, because there’s something there that he doesn’t want to take a closer look at yet. “Ain’t it dangerous?”

“Mhmm, not really. It’s just transfiguration of body parts, not _turning_ into an animal.” Itaru turns to look at him. “Besides, _if_ I get stuck, I have you to help me out.”

“We haven’t learned that yet.”

“And that matters to you?”

Banri huffs and lets out a smile. “Point.”

The corner of Itaru’s mouth lifts as well. “Right?” He tosses his phone at him, and Banri easily catches it, Seeker reflex kicking in.

“I have thousands of essays to write,” Itaru says, making Banri, who was about to ask him, close his mouth, “so tier for me. It’s my best girl’s event this week.”

“Haah?”

“Did you start playing Ultimate Weapons 4, by the way?”

“No.” Because it’s boring, nothing else, no other reason. More importantly, “You’re leavin’ your phone to me?”

“Sure, why not? Who else can I ask?”

“Dunno. Citron?”

“Yeah, right. He’s even busier than me”—of course, that’s the only reason—“and doubt he can rank as high as you can anyway.”

That feels like a high praise, coming from him. “Ah… I see.”

Banri glances at the phone in his hand and turns it on, surprised by the lack of passcode. Itaru probably removed it for him.

Suddenly, there’s a weight on his head, and it takes him a moment to realize that it’s Itaru’s hand.

He’s ruffling his hair.

Banri looks up, and Itaru’s smiling at him, tail wagging, moving elegantly from left to right. Itaru laughs. “Looking confused like that doesn’t suit you, but it’s cute.”

_It’s…?_

Itaru stands up, and like usual, he gathers his things and heads outside, Banri following him on autopilot after pocketing the phone. After picking up the magical device near the hallway, Itaru brings his wand out. One flick to store the items in his bag, another flick to remove his ears and tails.

“I’ll see you in… two weeks, maybe.” Itaru waves a hand and walks away. “Get that card, okay? Of course, make sure it’s bloomed.”

Banri slowly nods and makes his way to the Gryffindor Tower. Head spinning, he mumbles the password of the week and rushes in when the door swings open. He thinks someone in the common room calls for him, but he ignores it and goes up the staircase and into the fifth year’s dormitories.

After applying a quick Cleaning Charm and changing his clothes, he jumps to his bed and closes the curtains.

He takes Itaru’s phone out of his pocket and opens it, the KniRoun wallpaper greeting him before he falls asleep.

The phone on the bed is the first thing he sees when he wakes up.

* * *

“Got the card you want,” is what Banri says as a greeting when he arrives in the secret room.

Itaru looks at him and holds his hand out, grinning. “I expect nothing less.”

The grin reminds Banri of the night a few weeks ago _(cutecutecutecutecute—)_ and he clears his throat before sitting down and handing him his phone. If he’s a little closer to Itaru than usual, it’s completely an accident. “And I expect to be compensated.”

“There goes the Slytherin quality.”

Okay… Banri doesn’t want this conversation again. But he also wants to correct whatever nonsense Itaru is thinking. But what if it makes him mad or something? He doesn’t want that weird distance again, especially not when Itaru’s graduating in a few months.

So he ignores it and replies, “Well? What’s my reward?”

“What do you want? You can— ah, there she is.” Itaru’s side profile is really something else, especially when he’s smiling, the eye visible to Banri crinkling. “Nice. Anyway. Tell me what you want. I don’t really know what to give someone who can easily have anything.”

“I don’t.”

A snort. “Yeah, right. You’re a Settsu. Besides, don’t you own a Firebolt? A Firebolt Encore when your were just in second year, too. That’s rare, high-spec, _and_ expensive.”

Eh? “You know my broom?”

“Who doesn’t, when you parade it like that?” Itaru puts his phone down and turns to him, leaning sideway on the couch. “Though you should stop being too obvious whenever you don’t feel like catching the Snitch. Try to look like you’re exerting effort, won’t you?”

Banri opens his mouth—

“Though if you’re already bored with Quidditch, you should’ve tried to be a Prefect or something. That’s something to keep you occupied.”

—and snaps it shut. He squints. “What’s with you?”

Itaru laughs. “Just trying to act like a proper upperclassman, for once. Besides, I’m not going to leave any of my magical devices here when I graduate—sorry not sorry, by the way—so I’m giving you good advice instead.”

Banri tries to ignore the reminder of his graduation. “You can’t leave at least your Signal Orb here as my reward?” He fails.

“No way. Not that I don’t trust you, but these are my stuff, so…”

“Nah, I get it. I’m joking,” Banri says, waving a hand. The fact that he gave his phone to him for two weeks already says a lot about his trust in him. And speaking of… Banri takes a deep breath.

“How ‘bout your phone number?”

“Eh?”

“Your phone number. My reward.” Banri crosses his arms, then uncrosses them to rake his fingers through his hair. “That shouldn’t be much, right?”

Silence.

…Is that _actually_ too much? But they’ve known each other for almost three years now, so it should be okay? Not that Banri has a lot of friends, not that he knows a lot of people with Muggle phones, not that he’s an expert in this. But it’s normal, right? He’s just asking so he can contact him in the future if there’s some game they can play together or—

“You mean you didn’t enter your number in my phone yet?”

Banri gives him a blank stare. Itaru rolls his eyes, offering his phone. “You had my phone for _two weeks_. Did you just really play the game, then? Very un-Slytherin right there.”

Banri’s about to complain, almost unable to hold himself back from making a comment that might lead to the entire House conversation again that he doesn't really want, until he sees Itaru’s face.

A blush spreads across his cheeks. It’s a pretty color. Rose gold, like that time when he accidentally touched his ears.

Banri takes the phone and saves his number. When he hands it back, when their fingers brush, Banri doesn’t immediately let go. He places his free hand on top of Itaru’s, hears Itaru’s breath hitch when he rubs circles on his wrist.

Banri grins. “I’m a Gryffindor, after all.”

* * *

Banri breezes through his OWLs exams, and Itaru graduates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _You might belong in Gryffindor,  
>  Where dwell the brave at heart,  
> Their daring, nerve, and chivalry  
> Set Gryffindors apart;_
> 
> _You might belong in Hufflepuff,  
>  Where they are just and loyal,  
> Those patient Hufflepuffs are true  
> And unafraid of toil;_
> 
> _Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,  
>  if you've a ready mind,  
> Where those of wit and learning,  
> Will always find their kind;_
> 
> _Or perhaps in Slytherin  
>  You'll make your real friends,  
> Those cunning folks use any means  
> To achieve their ends._
> 
> _— an excerpt from the 1991 Sorting Hat's song_


	6. Sixth Year

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i can't use "ban-chan" since this isn't really ~japan~ but i wanted to keep the essence of taichi having a nickname for banri so i ended up using "banny" 
> 
> im sorry in advance

When Banri enters his sixth year in Hogwarts, the schedule surprises him. There are only a few subjects for NEWT compared to the previous year, so why were his upperclassmen so busy?

He tries to take Alchemy class, too. Fortunately, there are a lot of students interested, so a class can be made. _A lot_ of students, in fact, that two classes have been opened. A certain Slytherin alum made the class even more popular, Banri hears his classmates say. 

He inwardly snorts. Of course, _he_ will be that influential.

_(“Hey, did ya know that there are even two Alchemy classes now? Someone made it popular.”_

_“Is that so.”_

_“What a dry response.”_

_“…Is that it? Please don’t tell me that I excused myself just for this and not for, say, information about a limited edition item.”_

_“Oops.”_

_“Banri.”_

_“Kay, kay. I’m hangin’ up— oh, wait. You still there? Ah, yeah. Good luck with your internship. Bye.”)_

A few weeks later, he finally gets it. It’s not the difficulty of the lessons—Tsuzuru complains otherwise, but he’s always complaining about something anyway—but the sheer number of work they’ve been given. An entire day doesn’t feel enough to finish them, and he understands now why Itaru’s working on his essays in the secret room even at night.

When Banri’s in the library, working on one of his essays in Runes, he takes the opportunity to read more about prefects. All he knows is that they patrol the hallways, take away House points, and give detention; he vaguely remembers a grumpy prefect in glasses that took points when he and Hyodo fought back in first year, despite being in the same House.

He finds out that each House has one male and one female chosen in their fifth year to be prefects until they graduate. That makes a total of 24 active prefects in the whole school, with six prefects in each House. Isn’t that too much?

He remembers hearing about the large bathroom from Kazunari before, too. Apparently, there is a pool-like bathroom that only prefects, Quidditch captains, and the Head Boy and Girl can use. Pretty neat. His sister probably became a prefect and a Head Girl just for that. 

Banri probably won’t be a decent prefect. The urge to take off House points just because Hyodo breathes will not be beneficial to Gryffindor.

“Hi, Banny! Can I sit— You’re studying? Ooooh, you wanna be a prefect? But, ah, you can’t be one now… Oh! Maybe you can be the Head Boy next year!”

“No point in askin’ if you already took a seat.” Banri stares up and sighs at the sight of the poorly-dyed red hair. “Your Gryffindor hair clashes with your uniform.”

“Rude! Red is just, like, my color,” Taichi Nanao, the new Slytherin prefect, replies, touching his hair.

“Then you should’ve told the Hat to make you a Gryffindor.” Making deals with the Hat isn’t really a secret now, especially after Tsuzuru’s meticulous paper about it. Who knew he had been researching since their third year?

“I wanted to! I’m a big fan of Tasuku, you know?” Taichi pouts. “But the Hat wasn’t even fully placed on my head when it shouted.”

Banri didn’t care about the sorting ceremonies, especially during his second year, the peak of his boredom. Now that he’s staring at Taichi, who’s twirling his bangs, maybe he should’ve paid attention. Taichi can be annoying, but if the Hat sorted him into Slytherin that fast…

Appearance can be deceiving. Itaru and his manufactured smile, for instance.

“Can't be the Head Boy if I’m not even a prefect,” Banri says. He flicks his wand, and his quill starts moving again. If he’s gonna chit-chat, might as well still get some work done, too.

“That doesn’t matter! The current Head Boy is Misumi, right? And he’s never been the Hufflepuff prefect!”

That’s… right. Misumi _is_ the current Head Boy. What is Professor Izumi thinking?

“—Itaru!”

Banri blinks. “Huh?”

“I said, you’re friends with Misumi and Kazu, right”—Banri opens his mouth to refute that because they just occasionally meet—“but I’ve never seen you guys with Itaru.”

“And why,” Banri replies, slowly, “would Itaru be seen with us?”

“You two are friends, right? So I thought he’d hang out with your group, too!” Since when did Banri have a _group?_ “But Itaru’s really busy, I guess? With all his classes, then NEWTs, and the meetings with the ancient runes translation group, too.”

The meetings with _what?_ And more importantly— “You know we’re friends?” The two of them never interacted outside the secret room, and Banri has never told anyone about their meetings. He can’t really tell others that they meet up for games since Itaru doesn’t want anyone to know about that, right?

Or that is what Banri assumed anyway.

“Yeah?” Taichi furrows his brows and leans forward, placing his chin on his intertwined fingers. “I mean, you two sometimes meet at the field, right? Itaru ordered us to make sure no one would bother you guys! I mean, didn’t I bump into you last year? And that’s how we became friends!”

He ordered them to do _what?_ “Wait, you and I ain’t—”

“Though Itaru never told us why you meet. I guess it’s some Pureblood thing? Itaru’s very mysterious, but that’s what makes him sooo cool!”

Banri wants to correct Taichi, to say that they are not friends but mere acquaintances, but the memories that start flashing in his mind prevent him from doing so. The magical device Itaru places by the entrance only _alerts_ him if someone’s near the area, but it doesn’t _forbid_ anyone to enter. Banri _does_ sometimes pass by Slytherin students hanging around and…

What does this mean?

_(These cunning folks use any means to achieve their—)_

“Oi, Taichi!”

Banri turns to the owner of the voice and sees his underclassman, the newly-appointed prefect of his House, approaching them. They nod at each other when their eyes meet. Banri doesn’t really talk with Tenma Sumeragi often, but… pureblood camaraderie, and all that. Again, Kazunari’s fault.

Tenma crosses his arms. “Did you forget about today’s prefect meeting?”

“…ah.”

“Yuki’s mad.”

“Uwaaah! Am I the only fifth year missing? Is Masumi already there, too?” Taichi stands up and grabs Tenma’s arm.

“Oi, get off—”

“Let’s go, let’s go!” Taichi runs to the exit, dragging Tenma with him, only looking back briefly to say, “See you, Banny!”

A few meters away, the assistant librarian sighs. “I shall let this pass for I have witnessed friendship presented in a manner that makes me overcome with poetry, but do try to be quiet in the sanctuary of…”

Banri tunes him out. He’s louder than Taichi, and Banri doesn’t understand what he’s saying most of the time, either. He heard he’s a Ravenclaw alum, but not even Tsuzuru is that… peculiar. He goes back to his essay instead, flicking his wand to levitate a new parchment.

So Itaru has been doing all those things on top of gaming. He’s even part of a translation group? Really so damn good, isn’t he? And the Slytherins know they’re friends… Ordered them, huh? So that’s the Slytherin hierarchy he has heard of.

The good thing about Banri being himself is that he doesn’t actually need the time to _study_ ; he just needs time to do his mountain of essays. They are _still_ time-consuming, but basically, he has more free time compared to the other students in his year level.

More time to do… something else.

* * *

“Something else” turns out to be visiting Itaru at the potions shop he’s currently working at as part of his internship. Itaru spills one of the vials he’s holding—thankfully just a Sleeping Draught, based on its dark purple color—and Banri flicks his wand, thinking, _Scourgify._

The broken glasses, along with the spilled liquid, vanish. Banri closes the door behind him and walks toward the counter.

“You’re too comfortable in doing non-verbal spells. Annoying.” Itaru continues to place the remaining vials on the rack. “What are you doing here? Isn’t it Hogsmeade weekend?”

“Yeah. Not gonna offer me a seat?”

Itaru rolls his eyes. “You’re not a customer,” he says, but he takes out his wand two wooden chairs come closer. He takes his seat.

Banri turns the other chair around so he’s facing Itaru and sits down, placing an arm on its top rail. “Is it okay to be sittin’ around when you’re at work?”

“You’re the one who wanted to take a seat. How infuriating.” Itaru waves a hand. “And if you looked at the sign before you came in, you’d see that we’re already closed, hence my surprise.”

“Be careful, man. Remember when you thought _Muffliato_ would work on your phone?”

“Shouldn’t you be preparing for your exams?”

Banri lets him change the topic; he’s glad that Itaru wasn’t careful that time anyway. He raises a brow and points to himself. “Me?”

Itaru’s withering look is so far from his princely persona that Banri can’t stop the laugh that escapes him. “Whatever, Banri ‘Mr. Perfect’ Settsu.”

Banri flashes him a smile. Itaru sighs.

“Anyway,” Banri says. “You didn’t tell me you were part of an ancient runes translation group.”

“How did you know?”

“Taichi told me.”

“That one’s really too chatty,” he mumbles. Then, louder, “Yep, I was. Still am. And it’s the only reason you had a fighting chance against me in events.” He crosses his arms and tilts his head. “What about it?”

“You juggled lotsa things, especially in your last year. Lotsa responsibilities.”

“Yep, and aren’t you taking a lot of them, too? Do you want to continue playing Quidditch, by the way? I can link you with Chikage. Remember him?”

“Huh? Uh, yeah. The famous Slytherin seeker, right? Thought he stopped playing?”

“He’s playing professionally now, on the same team with the Hufflepuff from before. They fixed whatever it is, I guess. I’m not really one to snoop in other people’s business. But, well?”

“Thanks for the offer, but nah.”

“Why not? You’re a good Seeker, and didn’t you want to have a match with him?”

 _I only wanted to ease my boredom, and I don’t need Quidditch anymore if I have you anyway,_ is what Banri didn’t say.

“That team won’t need me if that Seeker’s already there,” is what Banri says.

Because while Banri has figured his feelings out and accepted it, and while he is damn brave like a paragon of Gryffindor, he knows there’s proper timing to these things.

Besides, he’d like to be on equal footing first. Itaru sometimes has this tendency to treat him as nothing but an underclassman. But there are moments, too, where Banri thinks that there is something _more_ in their interactions.

Banri doesn’t really have a lot of friends _(“You know you have me, and Saku-Saku, and Tsuzuroon, and Omimi, and Sumi, and Tenten and Taicchan and Yukki and aren’t you and Hyodle working toge—”)_ to know what a normal friendship is like, but chatting and calling and playing together until morning isn’t something you’d do if you don’t at least consider the other person special, right? There should be some truth to their ~~flirting~~ banters, right?

Banri holds on to that hope. 

And he ain’t gonna confess in a dusty, little potions shop.

He grins, all teeth and shit-eating. “I’m gonna take a lot more responsibilities, too. Way more than you did.”

“Eh?”

“Make sure your teams _and_ wallet are ready during the events at break.”

“What are you talking ab—”

“And in a year,” Banri says, grin morphing into a small smile, “you better already be an Alchemist or a Potioneer or whatever in the making. Have a Runes paper published or somethin’, too. I’m comin’ for your ass.”

Itaru raises a brow, eyes flashing in response to the challenge. “Is that literally or…?”

See what Banri meant?

“Yeah, yeah. Sure.” There should be some truth to their… banters, a’ight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *clenches fists* get together already.......... but i guess pre-relationship tag is there for a reason huh
> 
> ((itaru is a slytherin))


End file.
